Skype, Verizon Unveil All-You-Can-Eat Mobile App

Skype Mobile application will be available to Verizon customers with data plans and let them make and receive Skype-to-Skype calls anywhere in the world for the same cost as making the calls on their PCs. Enterprise Mobile Today takes a closer look at the new service offering and how the companies are making it even easier for Skype fans to stay in touch.

Verizon Wireless and mobile VoIP company Skype today at Mobile World Congress presented details of a joint venture that will bring a custom-designed Skype mobile app to smartphones on the nation's No. 1 carrier by March.

Initially, the exclusive mobile app will be available on Verizon's 3G smartphones, including the BlackBerry Storm and Storm2, the Curve 8330 and 8530 and Tour 9630 handsets, along with the carrier's Android-powered phones, the Droid, Eris and Devour.

The app, simply dubbed "Skype Mobile," is being offered to Verizon customers with data plans and will allow them to make and receive Skype-to-Skype voice calls both in the U.S. and abroad through Verizon's wireless network. Basically, calling costs are in line with what a user experiences on the PC.

If calling within the Skype community, its free, and if calling a landline Skypes standard rates apply. Skype Mobile will also let them place international calls using Skype's calling rates under the "Skype Out" plan. Another feature of the mobile app provides the ability to send and receive instant messages among Skype users.

One of the most noteworthy features of Skype Mobile, however, is the always-on connectivity and ability to identify when friends are online, which means callers won't have to pre-arrange phone calls or go through several steps on their smartphone to initiate a call.